Residents are being urged to help plant tens of thousands of trees across North Lincolnshire to help reach an ambitious target to make the area greener and cleaner.
North Lincolnshire Council will kick start the ambitious project by planting more than 16,000 trees across 25 acres of new, urban woodland in Scunthorpe.
Under the proposals, three new woods would be created.
The first would see a new wood created across almost four acres of land along the length of Grange Lane North. More than 2,000 trees will be planted from the junction with Queensway.
Hempdyke Woods will be almost doubled in size with 7,000 trees planted from Ferry Road south through to Doncaster Road.
And, Hardy Road woods will be extended north to meet West Common Lane and south through to Manor Park – again with 7,000 trees planned.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We’ve set a very ambitious target to plant a tree for every one of the 172,000 residents of North Lincolnshire across the coming few years.
“We want to start by extending the woodland in a number of areas of Scunthorpe to create new urban woodland – the benefits of which are huge for people living in these communities.
“This is part of our ongoing commitment to making the environment of North Lincolnshire better for people today and for the generations to come – this will have a lasting impact.”
The scheme is part of the Government’s £500m, 25-year Northern Forest project which will see 50 million trees planted across the north of England from Liverpool to the Humber.
With invaluable support from community forest partners from the Northern Forest, the council is also looking at sites near Everest Road, along the Queensway, near Dudley Road, Sheffield Park, Spalding Road Park in Scunthorpe as well as areas in Barton, Bottesford, Brigg, Broughton, Kirton and Winterton.
Residents are urged to let the council know every time they plant a tree by filling in this online form on our website and uploading a photo.
Cllr David Rose, cabinet member for the environment, said: “By planting trees, we can reduce the risk of flooding, offset our carbon footprint and see our habitats thrive.
“We will also be creating something beautiful and resilient in North Lincolnshire where future generations can live, work, explore, learn and play.
“I would encourage everyone to get involved with this initiative, be it planting a single tree in your back garden, putting an acorn in a pot or getting together with your local community to create a mini-woodland.”
Schools and community groups can apply for tree planting packs from The Woodland Trust’s website.
The project is part of the council’s wider sustainable, environmental initiatives. A series of projects have seen the council reduce its carbon footprint by more than 60 per cent in the last decade.
In the last two years alone the council reduced its carbon emissions by more than 6,000 tonnes – smashing an already ambitious target three years ahead of schedule.
